small space portrait sessions

Small space sessions take place in my home studio in Jamaica Plain, MA. I do family portraits (some families come every year), portraits of groups of friends, couples, siblings, and people and their dogs or other pets. Everyone is welcome.

I love what happens when people are crammed together in a small space; the tangles of arms and legs, the expressions. These show real life, not fiction. Sometimes we hit the jackpot and everyone smiles but often the better portraits are the perfectly imperfect ones where people are being themselves. The sessions yield an interesting and beautiful selection of candid moments in a completely un-candid setting.

Professional Portraits/Headshots

I prefer to call these photographs professional portraits rather than headshots. I take the time to work with each person to get photographs that actually reflect the person being photographed.

This is a small selection of the hundreds of professional portraits I make each year for local universities, corporations, hospitals, small businesses and individuals.

“The Harvard Medical School (HMS) Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership joined forces with the HMS Office of Human Resources and The Transit Gallery, to create an exhibit entitled Dimensions of Harvard Medical School.

Dimensions is a collection of photographs capturing examples of the richness and diversity inherent within the community of Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine faculty, administrators, staff, fellows and students. It represents our varied cultures, ethnicities, races, genders, ages, religions, careers, education and training, socio-economic background and spiritual beliefs.”

Visit the Dimensions of Harvard Medical Schoolwebsite to see all of the portraits and the words written by each participant.

Dogs. Portrait Commissions.

I love dogs.

Included in the session fee is one luscious 12x18” archival print made on 100% cotton rag paper with pigment ink. The last photo shows the scale of the prints.

Real People, Real Stories: Mattapan is a series of photographs by Jennifer Waddell and poems by Boston’s Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges based on interviews of people with deeps roots and connections to Mattapan. This project celebrates Mattapan and the people who make this Boston neighborhood the vibrant community that it is.

A project of the Public Space Invitational, Real People, Real Stories is supported by the City of Boston's Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics.

The Memoir Project: Streets of Echoes. Client: Grubstreet and the City of Boston.

Streets of Echoes, Stories from Boston’s Most Enduring Neighborhoods is the fifth in a series of published anthologies. Founded by Grubstreet and the City of Boston, The Memoir Project gives Boston’s elders the opportunity to turn their memories into published narratives.

I photographed the writers in their homes, gardens and local parks; wherever they felt most comfortable.

Favorite Objects Series. Personal Project.

I’ve been working on this project for years but have nowhere near enough photographs. Email me at jen.waddell@gmail.com if you’re interested in being part of the series.

Like the Sun in Dark Spaces: Narratives Across Generations and Continents. Client: 826 Boston.

Written by the graduating class of 2018 from the Boston International Newcomers Academy (BINcA), this collection of personal essays explores ideas of success across generations and continents. Foreword written by Poet Laureate of the City of Boston Danielle Legros Georges. Published in 2018 by 826 Boston.

I Want You to Have This. Client: 826 Boston.

In this moving collection of essays, 11th grade students from Boston International High School explore meaningful objects from their families and former homes from around the world. Accompanying each essay is a full-page portrait of the student holding their object. Published by 826 Boston in 2013.

I'm A Flame You Can't Put Out. Client: 826 Boston.

Written by 5th graders from the Rafael Hernández School, this collection of poems written in English and Spanish explores family, identity, and future aspirations. Published in 2014 by 826 Boston. Here are some sample pages from the book.

85 Cents May Not Sound Like a Lot. Client: 826 Boston.

Forty students from the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science and the Jeremiah E. Burke High School have engaged in a creative publishing project in response to the MassDOT’s Focus40 initiative to position the MBTA to meet the needs of the Greater Boston Region in 2040. Students express their dreams for a equitable and forward-thinking future of transportation. Published by 826 Boston in 2017.

Attendance Would be 100%. Client: 826 Boston.

Written by the first graduating class of the Margarita Muñiz High School, Attendance Would be 100%: Student Proposals for High School ReDesign Boston provides vital student voices in the ongoing work to re-imagine the future of education in Boston. The culmination of a year's worth of interviews, original research, writing, editing and hard work, this book is a call to action to civic leaders across the city. Published by 826 Boston in 2017.

Here are some spreads from the book and some more of the student author photographs taken for the project.